Fare hike OKd

DAVAO CITY—Public transport regulation officials in Southern Mindanao supported demands for a 50-centavo fare increase in the region made by transport groups there.

Southern Mindanao is among several regions in Mindanao left out of an order that allowed a 50-centavo fare increase elsewhere.

Edgar Violan, director in Southern Mindanao of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), said transport groups in the region asked LTFRB to allow the fare increase as a temporary relief in the wake of increasing fuel prices.

But he said some transport groups, including the South Eastern Mindanao Diversified Drivers Operators Cooperative (Semddoc), are demanding a higher fare increase of up to P2 for the first 4 kilometers and 35 centavos for each succeeding kilometer. Germelina Lacorte,Inquirer Mindanao